Michael Bisping and George St-Pierre have grabbed all the headlines heading into UFC 217. However, the main event, while intriguing from a spectacle point of view, isn’t the best fight on the stacked card.
Here are the five best fights fans should keep an eye on:
Cody Garbrandt (11-0-0) vs. TJ Dillashaw (15-3-0) for the men’s bantamweight title
This is far and away the best fight on the card and could very well be the fight of the year. Once training partners and teammates at Team Alpha Male, one of the closest-knit fight camps in the country, Garbrandt and Dillashaw straight up don’t like each other. They also happen to be the indisputable best 135 pounders in the world and have a lot in common, style wise, thanks to their time spent training together. The main difference is that Dillashaw started as a wrestler and Garbrandt started as a boxer. Garbrandt’s knockout power and incredible takedown defense should be the difference, though. Dillashaw doesn’t have anything that can match them.
Post’s pick: Garbrandt by TKO
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0-0) vs. Rose Namajunas (7-3-0) for women’s strawweight title
Jedrzejczyk has methodically put herself in position to become the greatest female fighter in UFC history. Undefeated inside the Octagon, Jedrzejczyk needs one more win to tie Ronda Rousey’s record of six title defenses. If she gets it on Saturday against Namajunas, Jedrzejczyk plans to move up to the new 125-pound flyweight division in order to pull a Conor McGregor and hold belts in two different weight classes at the same time. She’d be the first woman to pull of the feat. Namajunas is all that stands in Jedrzejczyk’s way and the champ shouldn’t have any problems making history: Namajunas is extremely similar to Jedrzejczyk, just less skilled in almost every conceivable way.
Post’s pick: Jedrzejczyk by TKO
Stephen Thompson (13-1-1) vs. Jorge Masvidal (32-12-0), welterweight
Styles make fights, a fact Thompson knows all too well. Thompson spent the past year fighting two five-round title bouts with Tyron Woodley that were stalemates. Both men were afraid to engage because they were terrified of the other’s power. Masvidal’s old-school boxing won’t nullify Thompson’s karate stylings. If anything, they should bring out the best in each other. Thompson is all about elegance and reactions. Masvidal, on the other hand, fights loosely, naturally, and rhythmically. It should be a great fight and will be decided by who can dictate the terms of engagement: if things stay on the outside Thompson has the advantage, but if they get close Masvidal’s hands should prove decisive.
Post pick: Thompson by majority decision
James Vick (11-1-0) vs. Joe Duffy (16-2-0), lightweight
The UFC’s lightweight division is in the deepest, darkest corner of the shadow cast over the UFC by McGregor. As a result, the stacked collection of 155 pounders has been completely lost in the shuffle of 2017. The guys at the top of the division are stuck in limbo and the fighters a little further down the pecking order are basically screwed. Al Iaquinta, who just picked up an injury, and Rustam Khabilov are both on winning streaks right along with Vick and Duffy. Whoever wins on Saturday night should break into the top 10, it’s just hard to see where they go from there.
Post pick: Vick by unanimous decision
Randy Brown (9-2-0) vs. Mickey Gall (4-0-0), welterweight
Gall talked his way into a fight with CM Punk — and promptly submitted the former WWE superstar in a little more than two minutes. Gall then set his sights on Sage Northcutt — and got an extremely easy second-round submission. Now, Gall gets his first real test in the UFC against Brown, who trains out of the Bronx and has already fought for the promotion in Albany and Brooklyn. The New Yorker has far more experience and has fought far tougher guys than Gall so it makes sense that he’s a slight betting favorite, but with Gall the outcome is tough to predict.
Post pick: Brown by TKO